Polygonati rhizoma (Huangjing in Chinese) is a traditional and classic dual-purpose material used in food and medicine. Herbalists in China and Japan have noticed several different rhizome types in Huangjing with different qualities. Rhizome of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua and P. sibiricum Red. is divided into five types: “Jitou-type” Polygonati rhizoma (JTPR), atypical “Jitou-type” Polygonati rhizoma (AJTPR), “Jiang-type” Polygonati rhizoma (JPR), “Cylinder-type” Polygonati rhizoma (CPR), and “Baiji-type” Polygonati rhizoma (BJPR). This study observed the microstructure and histochemical localization of polysaccharides, saponins, and proteins in Huangjing. Nutritional and medicinal component data and antioxidant capacity (DPPH and ABTS) were analyzed to evaluate the quality of different types of Huangjing. The results showed that the comprehensive quality of the rhizomes, BJPR and JTPR, was better, regardless of their nutritional or medicinal values. Altogether, these results could recommend future breeding efforts to produce Huangjing with improved nutritional and medicinal qualities.

Paeonia lactiflora Pall. is a world-famous ornamental plant, whose roots have been used as an important traditional Chinese medicine, Shaoyao, to treat diseases for more than 1,000 years. Because of the excellent curative effect of Shaoyao, its quality has attracted wide attention, however, there is a lack of comprehensive research on the different influencing factors of quality of Shaoyao. In this study, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q/TOF-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) were utilized to systematically analyze the Shaoyao of different ages, diameters and roots with “pockmarks.” 60 metabolites were detected and identified from Shaoyao using the UPLC-Q/TOF-MS, of which 20 potential quality markers of dissected roots with and without “pockmarks” were selected for the first time using the orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and the variable importance for projection (VIP) plot. Then, a selective and accurate HPLC-DAD quantitative assay has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 bioactive components in Shaoyao. The results showed that the total content of five monoterpene glycosides including oxypaeoniflorin, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, lactiflorin, and benzoylpaeoniflorin and six phenols including gallic acid, catechin, methyl gallate, ethyl gallate, apiopaeonoside and benzoic acid in the 3-year-old Shaoyao was higher than that of 4-year-old and 5-year-old Shaoyao. In Shaoyao of the same age, the total content of five monoterpene glycosides and six phenols decreased with an increase in diameter. In addition, regardless of whether it is a whole or a divided root, the contents of five monoterpene glycosides and six phenols in Shaoyao with “pockmarks” were higher than those of Shaoyao without “pockmarks.” In summary, this work has explored several factors that might affect the quality of Shaoyao, and provide a guide for more comprehensive quality evaluation in its further production, processing, and rational utilization.